The Scarred Beast
by Nella Siphron
Summary: Giroro's scar is reopened, but the doubts of earning Natsumi's love won't let him heal; and with each passing day he is changing. Rated for: violence, blood, and slight language. I don't own the frogs, or the show.
1. A Black Scar

Alright I tried working on my other stories but I couldn't wait to start this one. Hopefully I can keep up on the writing stream I've had the last few days. I nearly have enough to post again on the others but not yet. Anyways hope you enjoy this new story that has been possessing my mind and feeding off of my attention. I'm trying to make it better than my recent piece titled :You Never Knew, so if I could get reviews to make it better at least in grammar that would be cookies, I mean fantastic. On with the story.

* * *

As the mist of sweet Natsumi dreams cleared his head, Giroro could hear the 5 am alarm. He groggily sat up and cleared away his sleep mat. Then he proceeded to fallow a basic set of morning exercises (although they don't appear to be basic to anyone else). After 50 pushups, 100 laps around the house, 100 crunches, and a slew of alien fitness techniques, he would fix a simple breakfast of space bacon and Type-G with a bottle of water.

Around 8 am he would report to the base for whatever Keroro had schemed. They would also tease each other for their faults and reasons for not invading, although Giroro would feel guiltier about his than anyone else. The meetings usually dismissed around 10. Then Giroro would catalog his ammo, supply, and weapons, which would fallow with a thorough cleaning and polishing. When the afternoon came and the Hinata children returned from school, Giroro would turn on his radio to Mutsumi's talk show. He did this to pretend he was listening with Natsumi, it was her favorite station.

Later on he would cook a couple sweet potatoes. Sometimes he would be lucky and Natsumi would eat one with him. He would listen to her express the troubles of a teenager and he would even let he talk about Saburo, he knew she liked him and he would just take joy in the fact that she chose to spend her afternoon with him instead of the white haired pekoponian. Today was just another lonely night by the fire as the sun ran under the edge of the world. Soon the day ends with a proper report in case the higher ups needed to review their actions and another more personal report in his journal. Tomorrow would fallow the same routine.

Alarm, exercise, breakfast, lame meeting, polishing, categorizing, lonely sweet potato, and disappointing reports. Each day for a few weeks fallowed this routine, the anger started to boil under the dark Keronian Standard Army Hat. Giroro felt useless towards both the invasion and winning Natsumi's affection. One day his anger peaked during the Platoon's meeting.

"I have had ENOUGH OF YOUR IDIOCY!" Giroro slammed his fist upon the table. The jars of jelly and butter danced as the plate of crackers jumped. The others weren't exactly startled; he always started yelling at this point. Only Dororo tried calming him down with his all too quiet voice. "Your plans never work, in fact just about everything you try to do FAILS! Also you keep WASTING YOUR TIME WITH USELESS GUNDAM!"

Keroro appeared hurt when his gundam was labeled useless and quickly turned to anger and began to argue back.

"I'm not the only one halting the invasion mister I'M IN LOVE WITH THE ENEMY!"

"Don't you DARE blame this on NATSUMI!"

"Do you even think she'll like an alien frog with a giant scar on his face?"

"Kuku and she's been ignoring you lately hasn't she, I wonder if that's why I haven't seen Saburo lately." Kururu couldn't help but chirp in and help the fire of anger burn brighter.

Giroro lunged at Keroro. The green frog instinctively defended with the butter knife and after one swift motion, Giroro knelt to the floor covering the left side of his face. He removed his hand to see the blood. His scar was reopened.

"Gi-Giroro, I'm sorry."

"Whatever. I'm going to my tent." Giroro covered his scar again and turned to leave.

"Kukukuku smooth move there Sergeant." Kururu chuckled behind his laptop.

"Will he be ok?" Tamama held a chip in front of his mouth slightly frozen from the turn of events.

"Well I didn't mean to do it. I'm sure he'll forgive me soon enough." Keroro waved his hand in the air nonchalantly.

"I'm going to make him some medicine before his wound gets infected." Dororo left in his traditional ninja smoke.

* * *

Dororo tried his hardest to find the best herbs. Some were actually rare and he had to trail on forgotten paths up jagged mountains to get them. He needed the specific ones for such a fierce wound. Dororo wasn't sure if the eye had been damaged as well, so he had to be sure it was covered if that was the case.

After a few hours and with Koyuki's help, he was able to make a healing cream for Giroro. He approached the red tent and right before he spoke one word he felt the force of an angry aura. Dororo wasn't only afraid, his extra senses intensified it to the point it nearly burnt his skin.

"Giroro? Are you alright?" Dororo waited for a response, and after a few minutes he could hear some rustling inside. Soon Giroro exited his tent bearing some crude bandaging over his left eye. "I brought you some medicine. I hope it will help you heal."

Giroro took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Thank you, Dororo." His voice was low; even quieter than Dororo had ever heard him use.

"Would you like me to re-dress your scar?"

Giroro took a seat on his cinderblock and closed his eyes, handing the ninja a roll of gauze. Dororo set aside the small jar of cream and carefully peeled away the wrappings Giroro originally placed over his wound. When all of it was removed the deepened scar was revealed and looking more gruesome than ever.

Dororo held his breath for a mere second and decided not to mention the darkened skin. He began to apply his home made medicine around the opening of the wound. Giroro flinched and for a short bit glared at his comrade. During this Dororo could see the damage to his eye. It didn't look severely affected, just a small scratch on the conjunctiva that sometimes lined up with the rest of his scar when he moved his eye right. Luckily Giroro was smart to turn his pupil away since his eyelid didn't take all of the damage.

The ninja sighed, relieved his friend won't go blind. He quickened his pace feeling Giroro's urgency to return to his solitude.

"You're going to need some new stitches." Dororo spoke as he tied the gauze. Keeping his eyes closed Giroro quietly stood and re-entered his tent. "I guess it could wait till later. Take care Giroro."

With his single farewell Dororo left.

* * *

That was the last time anyone saw the demon frog for a week. Everyone else was gathered at the table as Natsumi served the meal she prepared.

"What exactly did you do again?" Natsumi asked the green frog.

"Well I kinda insulted him, and then I cut his scar." With each word Keroro sunk a little more into his chair.

"No wonder he's still pissed. What surprises me is that you're in one piece and alive." The girl took another look out of the window towards the red tent. She understood that he wanted to be alone, but she was worried.

After dinner was finished and everyone departed to their rooms, Natsumi started cleaning the table. Her worry rose again when she glimpsed outside. She set everything down on the table and stepped out the door. She soon saw that his fire pit had begun to regrow the grass around it. He hadn't even left his tent let alone light a fire.

"Giroro?" Natsumi crouched down hugging her knees to her chest in front of the tent flap. "Can I talk to you?"

As she expected, only silence rose from his domain. Slowly Natsumi began to unzip the flap and only stopped when he spoke.

"Don't."

"Giroro what's wrong? Why won't you come out?" She tried her hardest to see into the darkness of his tent but it was useless. "I know that Keroro cut your face. It can't be that bad."

Giroro slowly shifted his weight and upon the shred of hope he had that Natsumi wouldn't be frightened of it he stepped out of the tent. The light from the house swiftly traced over his face and the girl gasped. He no longer wore the bandage, in its place were some crude stitches. The flesh had swollen slightly and grown even darker, nearly black. It also appeared that the blackness was reaching out and deforming his face.

The shock from his appearance sent Natsumi back onto her rear and she cringed slightly. She tried reaching out but recoiled her hand quickly.

"Giroro… it- it looks horrible." She held a hand over her mouth feeling slightly sick. Giroro's good eye widened before he ran back into his tent. "No wait! Giroro I'm sorry."

"Go Away." His voice mutated with a deep growl, scaring Natsumi more. Feeling she couldn't do any good for him she went to her room. Giroro was left alone in the dark as tears streamed from his good eye.


	2. The Monster

Another week had passed after Natsumi ordered Keroro to contact Pururu. The chief medic should be able to do something for Giroro. She was informed of everything that had happened, and after reprimanding Keroro for his actions and not calling for her sooner she carried her medical case over to Giroro's tent. She set the case down only for a minute to unzip the tent. She spent less than a minute inside as Keroro and Natsumi watched from the kitchen.

Suddenly Pururu ran back out and towards the others.

"THAT ISN'T GIRORO!" and sure enough what followed her out was not a small red alien frog, but a taller darker creature about 4 feet tall. It had thinner limbs than a keronian and four small horns on the sides of the head. It appeared more human. The signs it used to be Giroro were his belt and the still ever horrible scar that contorted and seemingly consumed the side of his face. This wasn't Giroro, this was his monster.

He slowly turned his head towards them and the first thing he set his nuclear eyes on was the only girl he cared for. Replacing the strong Natsumi he knew was a frightened teenage girl. She appeared on the brink of tears and the sight stabbed what was left of the red soldier. He took one step towards her.

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME! Her scream echoed through him, shattering the last bits of sanity he had. After watching her run out of the room he closed his eyes and shook his head, growing slightly taller and darker. He then darted out of the house on all four limbs.

When Pururu and Keroro felt he was at a safe distance, they went after Natsumi. They found her curled against a wall not far. She held her knees tight to her chest and she was crying.

"Natsumi-dono…" Keroro whispered her name feeling sorry.

"You have - hic- to fix him - hic- Kero-chan." The pink haired girl spoke between hiccups. "I can't - hic- I can't bear to see Giroro so- hic-. I just can't, I can't."

Her voice drifted away, buried underneath heavier sobs.

Pururu and Keroro waited for Natsumi to gather herself before fetching Fuyuki and heading to the base. Maybe Kururu would help them. Upon entering they found Kururu trying to scare Mois away with creepy references only to have her smile at him more. He gave up when he noticed the others.

"I saw what happened." He pointed to his monitor. It displayed a strategic view of Giroro's tent and the kitchen from a spot in the bushes. "I'm guessing you want me to do something about it?"

"Please?" Keroro begged the techno expert.

"Nope." Kururu answered without hesitation.

"Kururu there has to be something! You can't just leave him like that!" Natsumi raised her voice and clenched her fists at her sides.

"It's not just a matter that I don't care to; there literally is nothing to do. It's a self-created disease. He's been cooking in his anger and depression for weeks now. I wouldn't be surprised if he changes even more. Kuku." Kururu turned to his computer typing in some calculations.

"We did see him grow a little more before he ran off." Pururu mentioned, recalling the events in the kitchen. "Keroro what exactly did you say to him that started all of this?"

"If I actually say it he will definitely kill me." Keroro looked at the floor.

"He is likely to do it anyway with his state of mind. Ku." Kururu continued to tap away on the keyboard.

"Well…" Keroro took a moment to think of a way without letting Natsumi find his big secret. Giroro would turn him into a carpet in his new hunting lodge. The green frog could see him building a hunting lodge just to use him as a rug. "I teased him about his crush. Actually I blamed the lack of success on the invasion on his love for the girl. And then I mentioned that there wasn't really any chance she would fall for him."

THWACK!

"HEY! What the frog was THAT for?!" Keroro massaged the pulsing bruise in the back of his head.

"I wonder, what can be done? We should at least try to confine him to one area before he does something to the civilians." Fuyuki thought aloud.

"You could always try talking to him." Kururu spoke sarcastically. "Although I don't think Natsumi's screaming helped any."

"But, he did listen to her." Everyone turned to Pururu. She froze when she realized that she spoke. "Well, it is true. She told him to stay away and he left."

"Maybe sis is the only one who can get through to him."

"Are you suggesting that I go face him? I don't feel like dying anytime soon!" Natsumi flushed at the thought of seeing Giroro again.

"I've seen it happen before. You were the only one who could convince him to do some things, like during spring cleaning." Fuyuki pointed his finger in the air stating facts like a true know-it-all. "He didn't want to help clean but one statement from you and he helped us. You even got him into the Christmas spirit and participate in the activities when you asked about a present. You're our best chance at getting to him."

Now feeling everyone's attention Natsumi took a few steps back. Kururu stopped his constant clacking of the keys, bringing up a video feed on the screen.

"I found him. He's sitting on top of the Nishizawa tower. It looks like he grew some more. Ku."

Natsumi looked at the beast, now about a foot taller, crouched on the platform that surrounded the top of the tower. His horns had grown longer and there appeared to be odd etchings or, scars in his skin. She flinched when he roared out into the sky.

"Alright I'll go."

"Here." Kururu tossed her the collar Giroro had modified before the battle between them and the Garuru platoon. "We can contact you through that and you can use it to defend yourself if things get a little complicated. KUuukuku."

Natsumi slipped it on and activated the armor, blushing slightly at how tight it had become on her. She ran a few tests, making sure it worked well enough for what could be ahead. Then she nodded her head and used the jets to propel her through the halls and out of the house. **_Hold on Giroro. I'm on my way._**

* * *

Really loving this story. So much even, that I made a little pic of Giroro in his new form after he leaves the tent. Let me know what you guys think of it please! See you again soon... I hope.


	3. The Princess and The Beast

Her is the next installment. it's longer than my average chapter length because i just couldn't decide where to stop and it definitely wasn't going to be in the middle of the action and emotional scenes. hope you like what i give ya. I'm gonna go try working on another story now. see ya later!

* * *

Natsumi floated in the air, a mere 20 yards from Giroro.

"I'm gonna watch him for a bit. If he doesn't start thrashing things I'll move-in." She spoke softly into the collar.

"Copy that. It'll give us a chance to observe him and sense his vitals through your suit." Pururu responded. It was agreed that it would be easier for Natsumi to have Pururu as support instead of Kururu.

"It can do that?" Natsumi took a quick look at her armor.

"Yup. The power of Keronian technology is sometimes quite astounding."

Giroro only held his head in his hands, and after ten minutes Natsumi began to float closer. When she got less than 5 yards from him, she realized that he had been crying.

"Giroro?"

He quickly looked at her, allowing Natsumi to see his tears before he leaped off of the tower and landed on the street, cracking the pavement.

"Shit! He's getting away!" Natsumi flew as fast as she could to catch up but he was just too fast. As she sped on, the voices of other people could be heard.

"What is that MONSTER?!"

"QUICK! Get the children inside!"

"It's HIDEOUS!"

"Maybe that girl in the weird suit will destroy him."

If Natsumi could hear them then Giroro definitely did, and his growing form proved it. His color was now deeper than blood, deeper than maroon. The etchings in his skin began glowing like lava and his horns curled more on the ends.

"GIRORO WAIT!" Natsumi screamed as loud as she could. Her cry halted the beast. He turned to her. She could see that his scar had blackened completely. When she finally caught up to him she could tell he had grown in height as well as ferocity. His burning eyes now watched her but no longer shed tears. "Tell me what happened. Please."

The girl landed on her feet and tried her hardest to stand strong and not fall, intimidated by the beast before her. Even the girl who had defeated multiple alien enemies and saved the earth more than a handful of times couldn't stop her hands and knees from shaking. A few stray hairs that hung in her face trembled with the rest of her.

"What's wrong?" it took Natsumi a moment to breathe and relax in the silence before she could hear Pururu's whisper coming through her collar.

"Natsumi, I need you to fly away slowly."

Natsumi didn't take her eyes off of Giroro, but quietly responded.

"Why? He won't hurt me. You said so yourself." And it was at this moment that she really looked into his eyes and saw that all sense of care and sadness had left. They only showed hunger and rage as the red and orange color boiled brighter.

"He isn't himself anymore; and when you called his name you targeted yourself as game." Giroro's ears twitched at the mention of a target and he released a roar at the human girl. "RUN! RUN NOW!"

Natsumi activated the jets as fast as she could but only rose three feet off of the ground before she felt a tight embrace around her waist. Citizens around them screamed and began to evacuate the area. The air was squeezed out of Natsumi's lungs and soon she was forced to face the monster again. Her amber eyes widened as he pulled her close and took a few sniffs. Natsumi was too scared to scream and only managed to whimper a few coherent words.

"Please. Don't hurt me." The beast looked at the girl in his hand and froze when he saw her tears. Shining silver flashed through his eyes before returning to the burning orange and red. He then cradled her to his chest and ran on his other three limbs. Natsumi was still fearful of her partner and what was to become of her now that he had caught her.

She kept her eyes shut during the ride and tried to tolerate his boiling hot skin almost singeing hers. When the heat was reducing and the air had stopped rushing past them, Natsumi looked around her. She could see the Nishizawa mansion in front of them. Giroro loosened his hold on the girl and let her stand on her own.

Without a moment's notice they were suddenly surrounded by Momoka's personal army, their guns pointed directly at Giroro. Immediately following their arrival Paul had appeared between Natsumi and Giroro. The red beast was unfazed until the butler had vanished with the girl and a barrage of bullets had begun to fly at him.

Each one bounced off and only managed to piss him off more. He bellowed his rage into the sky before rushing at the soldiers and pounding them; most ended up being thrown at each other and into a comma.

Natsumi and Paul reappeared by the entrance with Momoka and Tamama. From here she could see the attack. She knew that the soldiers would just end up severely injured or dead. None of their small weapons could stop Giroro; but the only time she could beg any of them to stop was when they brought out a stronger gun and fired into Giroro's shoulder.

"NO!" her scream shot through the sky, leaving everyone else in silence. She turned to the heiress. "Momoka you have to take your men and leave. PLEASE. I don't want anyone HURT."

"We can't let something as dangerous as that thing live and we are definitely not going to leave you here with it." The sweet, weaker Momoka held her hands over her chest, unaware of the previous events that brought this beast before them and who he really was.

"That "THING" is Giroro. He would never hurt me." Natsumi held a look of determination and strength in her eyes for a mere moment before turning to the said beast. He held a man who lay limp, looking straight back at her. His eyes had flashed silver once more.

"If that is Giroro, then you are the only one who can help him now." The young tadpole stated looking at his superior. The three pekoponians looked at him.

"How am I the only one?" Natsumi asked.

"I know exactly how he's feeling, except I'm too cute and don't care much for pride to become that level of homicidal maniac; but if I did I know that only Sergeant could help me. He's my best friend." Tamama paused understanding that it wasn't really the friendship but his love for the Sarge. He quickly turned to Natsumi. "You're Giroro's best friend, so you have to help him."

"I swear it's like everyone is just using that as an excuse to avoid getting near him." the pink haired girl crossed her arms over her chest and huffed softly. "But who can blame them? I am smart and awesome, and I have probably faced worse before. Now get everyone away from here. I'll take care of Giroro."

"Stay safe." Momoka nodded signaling Paul. The butler carried both heiress and tadpole away with the troops fallowing them, carrying the wounded and unconscious on their shoulders.

Natsumi turned to the ground when she saw many of the men who were nearly killed. The blood was too much, and knowing that her partner had caused it broke her heart. Once everyone had left, Natsumi clenched her fists at her sides and shifted her gaze to the red demon who hadn't moved once since her scream. At first glance she appeared angry but her eyes radiated her sadness and disappointment. It was her eyes that caused the beast to flinch. The girl began walking towards Giroro but stopped when she saw his bleeding shoulder. Her expression changed entirely to worry and she then quickly padded over to him.

"You're hurt." She looked closer at the gash inflicted by the earlier gun shot. Giroro pulled away only to receive a stern look from the girl. "Let me see it, Giroro."

He turned away and allowed the girl to look upon his opened flesh.

"We need to get you inside so I can clean it and patch it up. Fallow me." The girl grabbed his hand carefully and began walking to the mansion. Giroro grunted and refused to move. Natsumi looked back at him. "You may have changed but you're still as stubborn as ever. Now stop causing trouble and let me help you."

"You." The deep voice grumbled through Natsumi's ears. "You want help me?"

The girl could see the flashes of silver in his eyes again. She paused waiting to comprehend that he had, for the first time in his new form, spoken to her.

"Yes. I want to help you. I don't like seeing you hurt."

Giroro's eyes widened in surprise and this time he followed her to the mansion and waited patiently as she searched for the first aid kit. As she was bandaging his shoulder, Natsumi took the opportunity to try talking to him again.

"I was wondering; why did you bring me here? Why the mansion?" she tried speaking as softly as she could, keeping the mood calm.

"Princess deserve castle." He spoke with small pauses between his words and his voice gurgled slightly but Natsumi could still understand him.

"You think I'm a princess?" she said tying the ends of the cloth bandage together. "If you think that then you want the best for me right? So why did you run away?"

Giroro began breathing heavier and faster. Natsumi could feel the heat rising from his skin and quickly hugged him.

"I'm sorry Giroro. I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Even with her armor on her embrace was soft and it calmed the beast. The heat was reducing and the fiery etchings began lowering to a dull red and slowly shrinking. "Come one let's get something to eat."


	4. Shrinking

More emotions, yay!

* * *

After getting Giroro to sit patiently at the dining table, Natsumi took a peek at the kitchen and food cabinet. The sight of the walk in closet of edibles left Natsumi breathless and slightly jealous. On the right there were shelves of delectable sweets while the left had stocks of foreign vegetables and meats. She decided on just a simple beef and vegetable stew. She was positive that Momoka wouldn't mind her using the food. The food was set down on a counter when Natsumi noticed the armor that covered her hands.

"I should probably take this off." She focused her mind and was slightly startled at the rush of freedom as her suit immediately retreated into the collar. She didn't realize how tight it was on her chest and thighs and blushed again. "I'm going to have Kururu fix that as soon as I get home."

"kuku that means I get to take your measurements again." The voice came through the collar and made Natsumi blush even deeper. A crash could be heard shortly after and his laughter dropped in volume until he was out of range.

"Sorry about that. I got focused on the readings that I didn't notice he took the mic." Pururu's voice came through.

"Well tell him that Giroro will be able to take my measurements long before he is allowed to think about doing so!" She took a deep breath and calmed down. There wasn't any good in upsetting the red beast if he heard this. It didn't help that she swore she could hear him say 'can I at least watch him?'

"We lost communications somewhere during the chase. Thanks to Kururu boosting the range we found you again, and obviously you survived. Did you lose Giroro?" Pururu decided to focus on Giroro's situation than their dispute.

"No. He's in the other room. I got him to calm down after we were ambushed by Momoka's army." Natsumi began washing her hands and chopping the vegetables.

"Did he change physically?"

"Not much, he got larger when I chased him through the streets but he got smaller and cooled down when I was dressing his wound."

"Alright." The sounds of clacking keys came through. "I wasn't able to get a complete read on him earlier, but what I did manage to find is that his breathing and heart rate are way too fast and his core temperature is that of an active volcano. I haven't even begun to exaggerate yet. You need to keep him as calm and collected as possible. These conditions on his normal form would most definitely kill him multiple times over and I'm not at all aware of what his current tolerance level is. For all we know he could die of a heart attack or burning of his body."

"I understand." Natsumi's voice was nearly silent. She couldn't bear to think about that.

"Kururu says that we could get a better read with a blood sample but I'm not going to let you chance things to get one."

"I'm just not sure how I would even get it to you." Natsumi mentioned as she began putting everything into a pristine pot and turning the stove on.

"What? NO! There's no telling how angry and dangerous he would get if you stuck him with a needle and drew blood." Pururu sternly warned like an over protective mother.

"If it will help him, then I'm going to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it." Natsumi paused her conversation and cooking when she heard a crash in the dining room. She dropped the spoon in her hand on the counter and ran into the room. She saw Giroro with his head against the wall and broken bits of mirror on the floor. "Giroro, what happened?"

The beast turned to her. The broken glass had cut through his face and blood dripped down his cheeks and the wall. The girl grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen.

"Let's get you cleaned up." She told him to stay at the counter while she went to quickly check on the food and then grab the medical kit, deciding from then on to carry it with her. Using the tweezers, she tried to pull out the glass as carefully as she could. When she was sure she had dug all of the little shards out, she moved onto cleaning away the still running blood. "Why did you do that? Why would you hurt yourself?"

"I'm beast." He covered the scar on his face with his large hand. He began breathing heavily again. "I'm, ugly. I scare you."

"Giroro," Natsumi sighed and then leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his torso. "You're not ugly. It's true I'm intimidated by your new look, but I will learn to love it as much as I did when you were smaller."

The red beast had halted his breathing. The color of his face lightened a few shades almost back to his normal red.

"But you scared, before I change." They both remembered their moment at his tent when Natsumi first saw him after the incident. The girl hugged him tighter.

"Giroro, I was just worried about you. Your scar was," She paused before describing what she felt at that moment with a grim tone. "It looked sickly, and deadly. I was worried you were gonna…. I don't want to lose you."

During the silence that followed, Natsumi could feel her hands around him slide closer together. She pulled away, but still hugging him, to see that he was shrinking.

"You're getting smaller." She removed her arms and straightened up, comparing their height. She smiled. "You're only an inch taller than me now."

She saw his forehead again and proceeded to place a square bandage on it.

"There, you should be better in no time." Natsumi was surprised by his next move. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and nestled his head against her neck.

"Thank you, Natsumi." His voice was smoother than earlier and vibrated in her skin. She returned the hug.

"So you do remember my name. That's good."


	5. Bursting for Love

I apologize for taking a little while to update anything but I have been helping a couple of friends who are starting their own business. They make quilted coasters, other quilted whatnots, and best of all fleece hats and plushies. Some are plain but they can accept orders for customized character hats! Check out their website to see what's been done so far, .com is the link.

WARNING: This chapter gets a little dark and self mutilatey, so be wary cause there's blood.

* * *

They embraced each other until the sound of bubbling and the smell of beef interrupted them. Natsumi jumped up and dashed to the stove stirring the food. She then sighed in relief.

"Good it didn't burn." She soon had two dishes of beef stew sitting on the counter. "Careful it's hot. We should let them sit for a little while before-"

Natsumi stopped when she saw Giroro pick up the bowl and pour the soup straight down his throat. He placed the bowl down and looked at her as if nothing strange just happened.

"More…. Please." He nudged the bowl closer to her, across the counter.

"Uh, sure! Of course. I guess it makes sense that your appetite would increase after such a big change." Natsumi shook off her surprise and refilled his bowl, which he again poured straight down his throat. After filling him a third bowl, Natsumi decided to try eating her own. She blew on it and carefully slid the spoon into her mouth. The taste had her exploding with delight. "Oh my gosh! The food is just godly. I want to be rich if I get to eat food this good every day."

Natsumi finished her bowl while Giroro guzzled down the rest right out of the pot. The girl giggled when she saw some of the stew settle on the corner of his mouth and down his chin. She grabbed a napkin and wiped him clean. Giroro's color seemed to lighten slightly. The etchings tightened into thin lines and barely lit up anymore. The four horns had taken their time to wind down since the shootout earlier with Momoka's guards, and now the ends weren't as pointy or as far from his head.

"Giroro, if you want to talk about what happened; whatever made you feel so horrible that you changed I will listen. I won't judge you either." Natsumi set the napkin carefully on the counter surface before looking into his eyes. "Keroro said something about a girl you like."

Giroro's twinged hoping Keroro hadn't said too much. Natsumi placed a hand over his as his claws began scratching at the wood.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk, but whoever she is I'm sure she'll see how wonderful you are and decide that she would love to be with you. You have that kind of charm that no matter how mad or scary you seem, others want to be around you."

"I afraid, she won't see how much I like her." His words were spaced out and although shaky were full of strong emotion. "We different and she likes him."

"You mean another guy?"

Giroro nodded his head. He looked away from her, towards the floor. His head throbbed with doubt. Loud heavy voices banging at the sides; even his scar began to sting with pain.

"I'm afraid she hate me. She hate what I do, what I am. We too different."

"How different could she possibly be?"

"She is beautiful, smart, kind, strong, and opposite of me. Other guy is opposite of me too. Perfect match." He placed a hand on his face hiding. This was the most he had poured his heart to her. The most he had shown her. He half expected her to outright laugh at him; and the voices in his head weren't helping him feel better.

"Those are the same qualities one could say about you; except the beautiful part might be cute or handsome. I'm not sure how to help when she's looking at another guy though." She crossed her arms and began to think. She wasn't exactly skilled at dating advice; she only knew how to be truly herself.

Giroro blushed at the compliment but still felt the doubt, knowing that she wouldn't leave Saburo for him.

"Who is she? Maybe I can convince her to notice you; she probably doesn't even know you like her."

"How could she not?" his voice spewed from his mouth deeper than ever. He clutched his head with both hands now and dug his claws into his skin. "Every time I blushed, every time I stumbled, every time I couldn't breathe when she was near. How could she not notice when I made her something, cooked her something, even risked my honor and reputation even sometimes my life to make her days better?"

"Giroro calm down, please!" Natsumi slowly backed away from the now growing beast.

"Why didn't she see the hints I left? Why didn't she hear my silent confessions? Why didn't she just see it in my eyes?" he clenched his teeth and gripped his tear soaked cheeks even tighter. "How could she miss that I changed what I was for her? Why can't she see that I love her?!"

His claws ripped down his face tearing through the flesh. Natsumi's eyes flashed wide in horror. As Giroro tilted his bleeding head back, blackness flooded out from his new wounds. Natsumi couldn't take it and quickly ducked behind the counter clasping her hands over her head. Her eyes were still wide as she listened to his screams and the roaring of his pain. She could hear his blood splatter around the room. Soon she could hear the doors slamming open and the breaking of glass down the hall. This was followed by nearly complete silence with the rough hum of hollow breathing.

Natsumi decided to creep up and take a look around the room. Peering just over the edge of the counter she could see the red on the wooden surface and dripping from the walls. She couldn't see the beast and decided it was safe to stand. She cautiously walked towards the doors and saw the shards of window on the carpet down the hall. The girl closed the doors as quietly as she could. She turned back to the room only to be startled by the body lying on the floor. She covered her mouth to withhold the shriek.

There on the floor wasn't the big red beast she expected to find but the small red frog she had missed.


End file.
